Dialing Damned

Though differing with the President on most major issues, the Senate last week lined up solidly behind him as objecters to the dial telephone system.

Month ago Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. asked the President for permission to replace the White House telephones on twelve trunk lines with dial instruments. Fond though he is of mechanical efficiency, the President declined to work his finger instead of his voice.

Without asking the Senate's permission the C. &. P. Co. fortnight ago changed 450 telephones in the north wing of the Capitol and the Senate office building over to the dial system. Senators fussed and jiggled with the new instruments, lost patience. Particularly annoyed with these "abominable nuisances" was Virginia's peppery little Senator Carter Glass. He offered a resolution to rid Senators of dial telephones. Said he: "I object to being made an employe of the telephone company without compensation."

Others complained that the new system released girl operators, added to unemployment. With a whoop the Senate unanimously adopted the Glass resolution to oust the dialers and replace them with the old "number-please" instruments.

The revolt spread to the House where North Carolina's Representative Abernethy introduced a resolution to oust the 700 dial instruments on that side of the Capitol.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.